


Me and My Husband

by cutesypops



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amputee Shanks, Chronic Pain, Domestic Fluff, F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, LGBTQ Parents, M/M, Mihawk Works at a Museum, Multi, No Drama Like Gay Drama, Parent Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks, Parent Dracule Mihawk, Schmoop, Shanks and Mihawk are Good Dads, Shanks is a High School Teacher, because I said so, embarrassing dads, god this is so damn soft, slaps fic you can fit so much love in this bad boy, there are lots of characters featured in this fic so i'll add as they're mentioned, when i tell you that this fic is a constantly growing hydra i mean it, when you want specific content sometimes you've gotta make it yourself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-06 10:35:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17343734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutesypops/pseuds/cutesypops
Summary: Mihawk married a dumb jock with a heart of gold who hangs out with a literal clown. Shanks keeps strange company but his husband collects swords, so he can't judge him. Their daughter Perona is a delightful little monster who might be making their hair extra gray, but really, who can tell in this lighting? (The fic where Mihawk and Shanks got married, somehow raised a daughter, got a cat, and are ridiculously, embarrassingly in love.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic that I'm uploading onto here! I genuinely haven't written fanfiction in a good while, but since I started to immerse myself in the things that I love all over again, it just happened. It hasn't been proofread by anyone other than myself, so some mistakes slip through every so often. This is a story that I continue writing when I want to feel good, and it's like a safety blanket that I keep working on as time goes on. I'm with the love of my life currently but we live apart, so I'm literally starving for domestic fluff. I honestly don't have enough of this kind of content for my favorite characters to wrap myself up in, so I made it myself. I plan on expanding the universe that this AU takes place in somewhere along the lines, considering I have lots of ideas in my brain and already wrote some other stuff that is related to the material here. The title for this fic is taken from "Me and My Husband" by Mitski!
> 
> This is a domestic fluff piece, if that wasn't abundantly obvious, that primarily features MiShanks as goofy and embarrassing dads. I think that these two make such an unlikely pair of friends at first but once you see how well they compliment each other, everything fell into place as I saw them working as a couple like my partner and I. I love these two to bits, and since I started rewatching/reading One Piece, I just wanted to pull everybody close and keep them safe. I've taken up enough time though, so enjoy!

Shanks surfaced into consciousness languidly, his body boneless and relaxed for once. He heard the patter of rain against high windows and gave his arm a soothing squeeze; it usually didn’t bother him, but the cold made the old wound ache in a way that at least wasn’t as painful as it used to be. He didn’t have class today or tomorrow, with the teaching staff on break for the upcoming holidays. For the next week and a half, he was no longer a beacon in a crazy sea of hormones, and all he had to worry about was sleeping and making sure the cat was fed. As much as he hated to admit it, the exuberance of youth was more and more exhausting as he got older. Today he figured that he’d let himself be an old man and sleep in a little, pulling the duvet to his chin and burrowing closer to his bedmate. His husband’s usually stern face was smoothed by sleep, all of his pensive creases ironed out with the comfort of their warm bed.

Mihawk slept with a stillness that should have been unnerving, but after all these years he knew that calmness was a display of his trust. It was mutual, and Shanks honestly had a hard time sleeping at all without the other man beside him at this point. Shanks wrapped his one arm around his husband’s waist, rubbing his stubble against the other man’s bare shoulder and watched his face twitch and scrunch up with a gleeful grin. Mihawk put his large hand against his chin and weakly pushed it away, rumbling something unintelligible. The other man grunted and rolled so Shanks could slot himself against his back, knees tucked up behind the other as he simply pressed his lips to his shoulder and breathed him in. Yeah, sleeping in would be nice…

He blinked back awake to the same twilight quality of morning rain, unsure of how long he’d been asleep. He did know that the bed was empty aside from himself, though. He gave a little shiver and burrowed even further into the covers, listening to the sounds of the house. The shower was running, which meant Mihawk was up. He doubted Perona would be, their daughter slept even more soundly than himself. Shanks made a note to go coax the girl awake with some cocoa and a bagel sandwich, to make sure she was up on time for her last university class before break… _when did she grow up so fast?_ He sighed heavily, feeling old and tired, and the rain wasn’t helping.

The shower had shut off sometime while he was lost in thought, but he was brought back by the soft padding of feet on hardwood and the smell of Mihawk’s expensive soap. He knew that he was being especially quiet on his behalf, and all he could do was lazily grin up at the other man when he made eye contact. He stopped ruffling a towel through his damp black hair and blinked slowly at him like a cat with his golden eyes, hanging the towel next to the bathroom door. Shanks raised his brows suggestively and winked. Mihawk huffed, returning to tucking his dress shirt into his slacks and picking out a tie from the closet with the ghost of a grin on his lips.

God, he’s pretty. Shanks wiggled beneath the duvet and hid a smile in his pillow, rolling fully onto his stomach with a comfortable sigh. Mihawk walked closer to the bed to grab his watch, which _somehow_ ended up on Shanks’ side table, and the red-haired man shot his arm out to grab the other’s wrist. He quirked a fine brow as Shanks trailed his tanned fingers along the soft skin of his inner wrist, trailing up his strong clothed forearm to cup his elbow through his dress shirt. He grinned up at him again and brushed his barely open lips across Mihawk’s fingertips, which became an infuriatingly smug smile when his fingers involuntarily twitched. Shanks gave his arm a little tug, and Mihawk simpered only a little before leaning down and kissing the idiot soundly.

“Good morning,” Shanks mumbled an affirmation against his lips, “Sleeping in?” Mihawk’s voice tickled down his spine, and he wished that his husband had the day off too, so he could pull him back into bed.

“I have a new exhibit to work on with Robin at the museum, but I’ll see if I can come back sooner for dinner?” Shanks groaned at that, and kissed Mihawk harder for good measure.

“You better.” Mihawk smiled against his lips, raking his fingers through his husband’s red hair. He leaned back and snorted as Shanks tried to follow him, nearly falling out of bed in the process.

“I’m going to wake Perona and make sure she gets ready for her class.” Mihawk straightened out his sleeve, turning to the mirror to put on a distinctive red paisley tie.

“What do you want for breakfast?” Shanks yawned loudly as he asked, sitting up with a stretch. He scratched at his belly as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, reaching out for Mihawk again to wrap his arm around his waist. Mihawk chuckled, a rare prize that Shanks soaked up like a happy little sponge.

“I ate before I showered, but you sleep like a rock.” Mihawk threaded their fingers together as he leaned into him, thumb tracing an old scar on the back of his dark hand, “Also, you snore.”

Shanks swatted Mihawk’s ass playfully as the other man pulled away, meeting his poisonous glare with a toothy grin. With a long-suffering sigh, Mihawk straightened his clothing one last time and walked gracefully out of the room with a pair of dress socks in hand. Shanks went to brush his teeth and smiled as Kumashi’s collar jingled at the sound of running water. The big lummox gracelessly jumped into the sink, attempting to catch the stream of water with his paws and only succeeding at soaking them both in process, darting out of the bathroom when the faucet was shut off. The red-haired man shuffled behind the cat with another noisy yawn, smiling softly as he saw Mihawk in Perona’s pink room, trying to rouse their little monster back into the world of the living.

He heard a whiny mumble and chuckled to himself before heading down the stairway and off into their kitchen. He heard Mihawk follow behind him shortly, pulling out eggs and bacon once he got to the fridge. Mihawk had already started a pot of coffee earlier, so he poured himself a cup. Breakfast was an easy and practiced task he’d done hundreds of times before, starting Perona’s hot cocoa and putting one of her fancy bagels into the toaster before he began frying up eggs and bacon. She may have grown up faster than he was admittedly ready for, but she still liked all of the same things.

Mihawk stepped behind him to grab a disgustingly sweet cream cheese from the fridge for her, something cutesy with rainbow sprinkles in it that they got at the farmer’s market. Perona was close behind him, hair split up into two messy buns on either side of her head and still in her silk pajamas. She yawned noisily and reached out for the drink offered to her, sniffing at it to make sure it wasn’t coffee before she tipped back the mug to drink. Cracking an egg into the frying pan, he bumped his hip against his husband’s, their daughter snorting behind them. Mihawk poured his coffee into a travel mug and kissed Shanks before he went to the door leading out back to the carpark, pinching the meat of other man’s hip hard in retaliation when he deepened it.

“Blech! Don’t do that in front of me!!” Perona shrieked, covering her eyes in embarrassment and scaring their poor cat in the process. Mihawk rolled his eyes and grumped over to the door, mumbling seething words under his breath while Shanks smiled fondly after him.

“Say hello to Robin for me!” He winked at Mihawk as he grabbed his keys, catching the small smile he tried to hide in the flared collar of his trench coat to save for later. Mihawk scratched Kumashi’s chin and left the house, opening his umbrella as the door closed behind him.

“What classes do you have for today, kiddo?” He started plating the eggs, but the bacon could use a little more time. “After class, we could get some last-minute Christmas shopping done.”

“Shopping?” Perona perked up as he handed her the cream cheese and her bagel, “You did say shopping, right?” Her slipper-clad feet swung back and forth excitedly.

“I said classes, Perona, _classes._ ” He laughed at her peeved expression after taking his bacon off the heat, “You do have one last class before break, yeah?”

“Mm-hmm, with that annoying old man Borsalino,” her mouth was full as she grumbled, “I hate his dumb face, and he talks _soooo_ slowly!”

She idly scratched Kumashi as he wandered up to the breakfast nook, eating the rest of her breakfast with Shanks in happy silence before getting up and putting her plate in the sink. Shanks knew that Mihawk loved their historic townhome and all of its charm, but he couldn’t help noticing just how cramped their tiny kitchen could get. Perona dropped a kiss on his head as she squeezed past him, skipping off to the stairs and up to her bedroom for a change of clothes. Kumashi looked up at him especially pathetically as he nibbled on his last piece of bacon, and Shanks cooed at him before giving him the last bite.

Still feeling sleepy, he decided that the dishes could wait as he got up, only to drop onto the couch down the hall in the living room. By the time he settled on the news channel, Perona was carrying her heavy buckled boots into the living room and watching the TV with waning interest. Her hair was half up in a neat chignon, and she was humming happily to herself. Shanks smiled as she walked up and scratched Kumashi’s ears as the cat sat lazily in his lap, his heart full of fondness for the girl. She plopped down into a chair off to his side and began the task of buckling her boots.

“When I get back from class, where do you wanna to go?” He looked over at her and mulled over his answer while she kept talking, “Can I bring Bonney?”

“I don’t mind Bonney coming. How about we go to all those little shops on Main Street, if the rain lets up?” He quirked a scarred eyebrow at her as she got up to put on her coat, figuring the waning rain should stop by the time she gets out of class.

“I want to go to a boutique there! Let’s get lunch too,” Shanks opened his mouth and she raised her hand up to stop him, “Bonney will buy her own food.” He snorted, and she pulled out her cellphone before grabbing her umbrella and bag, giving him another kiss on the head before leaving through the front door.

Before long, he was alone in the house, and he let out a quiet sigh to break the silence. The rain had slowed down to a drizzle, and he figured Perona was probably skipping her way to the university. As much as she hated Borsalino’s class, she loved shopping even more. At least her mood would improve. He figured that she would have invited Nami.

 _Ah, but didn’t she say something about her leaving to visit her girlfriend’s family out of town last week...?_ Shanks thought quietly to himself as he got up for a shower, massaging his left arm as he walked back up to his room. If it felt worse, he’d have to massage it after his shower. He still had that balm Luffy’s little friend Chopper made for him, which worked wonders. He gingerly pulled his t-shirt over his head, tossing it into the hamper before ducking into his bathroom.

The water was blissfully hot, and the spacious cubicle still smelled like Mihawk’s body wash from this morning. Nostrils briefly flaring as his thoughts wandered, he shoved his head under the stream of water and tried to focus on his task, cradling his bottle of shampoo between his left arm and his ribcage to get soap into his good hand. Moments like this made him miss having an extra one, but he snorted at the fleeting thought. It could be much worse, and he got along just fine. He whistled as he scrubbed along his scalp, rinsing away the aches and pains in his joints with hot water and Mihawk’s expensive shampoo for good measure. He heard Kumashi’s pathetic mewl on the other side of the door after he stepped out of the cubicle, toweling himself off while watching the cat’s little brown paw stick out from beneath the door and wave around lamely. Humming to himself, he gave Kumashi’s paw a poke with his toe before gently opening the door, watching the cat look up at him with a noisy meow. He had to dress for the day and feed the little beast.

 

* * *

 

He had just finished filling Kumashi’s bowl when he heard the front door open, Perona bouncing through the door with Bonney hot on her tail and laughing raucously. He beamed a smile at Perona and shook a quick wave at Bonney when they entered the kitchen before placing Kumashi’s bowl on its mat, generously scratching the cat’s round cheeks. Perona was giggling at something Bonney whispered to her before walking up to Kumashi and petting his ears too, cooing at him and telling him about her day. Shanks snorted and walked up to the sink to finish the dishes from this morning, nodding for Bonney to take a seat.

“Have a shopping list?” Bonney groaned her answer to him as she plopped down on the bench of the kitchen nook, having thankfully left her ratty boots in the doorway. She absently toyed with the zipper of her leather jacket, scooting over as Perona sat down next to her.

“All I know is that I could kill an entire pizza by myself right now if I could.” She moaned woefully, sounding as starved as she usually did. He had no doubt that she could, having made the mistake of picking up the bill from her and Perona’s lunch one weekend. She was banned from the buffet near Merry’s Bar, a feat only Luffy had pulled off before.

“Should I expect Zoro too, Rona?” Shanks looked over his shoulder at the two, smiling to himself as he watched Perona excitedly showing something on her phone to Bonney before she answered with a frown.

“Nuh-uh, apparently he’s having a tiff with his boyfriend right now and was _too busy_ for shopping with us!” He’d have to ask Mihawk about that, knowing that Zoro worked in his department. He couldn’t resist a little gossip, but above that he happened to like the kid’s company.

“Anyways, I got paid so I’m buying you two lunch,” Bonney winked at Shanks when he raised an eyebrow at her, putting the last dish onto the rack before turning to lean back against the counter. Tis the season, he supposed. “I’m guessing you haven’t found anything for the hubby? Hoping for some ideas, old man?”

“ _Ha,_ I already bought Mihawk something _months_ ago so don’t even try it, kid.” A lie, a total lie. Mihawk was a bitch to shop for, even after all these years.

“Right, _right_ ,” Bonney barreled on, “I had a lecture this morning, and the old bastard Borsalino’s class earlier with Perona was my last for the week, so I’m free for whatever.” Her stomach growled as if to punctuate her statement, and Shanks outright laughed as she cursed.

“Alright, I’ll drive us up to Main Street, get a bite to eat, and we’ll wander around the shops?” Shanks looked at Bonney, her toothy grin giving him his answer. “Let me grab my coat and we’ll go.”

While Bonney only met Perona a year ago, the two were fast friends. He liked her, and the car ride was certainly lively with her yelling about her “dickhead disk jockey roommate from Hell” on their way to the main street of Grand Line’s college town. It was a cute area away from the Greek houses, thank _God_ , lined with all manners of shops and cafes. One hell of a farmer’s market on the weekend too, which he and his husband loved more than he would ever admit. His phone buzzed after he parked, and a quick glance said he had a text from Robin. It was a shot of the new exhibit that she was working on with Mihawk, some prehistoric weapons on loan from a dig in Jaya that she participated in earlier this year. He knew that she was having a field day with their favorite weapons historian.

He smiled and sent a bunch of sword emojis in response, locking the car and wrapping his right arm around Perona as Bonney led them to her favorite pizza joint. It was a brick oven pizza place that he remembered getting way too drunk at with Benn and Makino last summer on their anniversary. He thought they got kicked out at the end of the night…maybe, but his memory was kind of fuzzy. All he remembered was messily kissing both of them on the mouth and crying about what a cute pair they were before Mihawk showed up with the car to pick him up.

Bonney was talking with one of the servers as they stepped in behind her, a short girl with green hair who blushed about something the other said. Perona smiled at waved at her with a bubbly laugh, and Shanks assumed that they knew each other when they all ducked in to dine at one of the more private booths near the back.

He spied a nametag pinned to her bosom that said “Camie”, and he smiled charmingly while thanking her. She was cute, and she giggled shyly while seating them before happily making her way to the back while they looked at the menu. He checked the time on his phone, leaning back. He wasn’t too worried this year about getting Mihawk a present, but he was pretty pressed for time if it wasn’t ready for pickup today. The jewelry store he ordered it from was just a block away from this restaurant if he recalled, so he’d be able to inconspicuously slip there to pick up his husband’s present before Perona asked too many questions.

“Two margherita pizzas as usual for me,” The girl lazily stretched into her side of the booth with an easy smile as Camie sidled up beside the table once more, and quirked a pierced eyebrow at them, “Unless you guys want anything else? I mean, the pasta here is really good, if you do.”

Perona looked over the menu before picking out an all-black pasta dish made with squid ink, and Shanks figured he’d share his lobster ravioli with her if she decided to be picky. Camie smiled beatifically at them and hurried off to place the order while a beautiful woman with dark hair and piercing blue eyes wordlessly poured water for them, winking at Bonney and pinching Perona’s cheek as she went to talk to another customer. Yeah, the two of them definitely came here regularly, and often. No worries—he’d enjoy lunch with the girls and pick up Mihawk’s gift while Perona raided the nearby boutique. He let himself get pulled into the conversation, and sent a cheeky text to Mihawk before he tucked his phone away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In typical fashion, I said that I would stick to a regular update schedule but only got to posting this new chapter nearly a month later. I'm sorry! I've been stretched entirely too thin by work and my studies, which has cut into what time I would use for writing. I was absolutely delighted by the kudos I received for the first chapter, so I really do apologize for the lack of updates! I am pleased with this chapter, however, so I hope that this chapter is enjoyable. The only proofreading on this was done by myself before posting, so please forgive me if there are any mistakes! Please enjoy this update.

Like every day, Dracule Mihawk arrived at work early, punctual as always. He walked to his office to hang his coat and check his messages, eager to see if he had any news from Bartholomew and Robin. Robin told him late last night that their rented exhibit arrived, and he was itching to see it. Like clockwork, he booted up his computer to check his email and made micro-adjustments to the photos on his desk that were moved by the cleaners, looking up expectantly as Zoro knocked on the door before walking in.

He had heard Zoro talking with a hushed voice on his cellphone near the back of the cubicles in front of his office, sighing harshly and pushing his glasses up on his head as he apparently got hung up on. For the other man’s sake, he pretended not to have heard him, knowing it would only put the junior anthropologist in an awful mood. The young man looked exhausted.

“Oi, Robin’s in the conservation room with the Jaya items.” He bit his tongue before he could scold the intern for his informal speech, immediately rising to follow him instead. Zoro was dependable and didn’t mince words, and even if he was a bit uncouth, his work ethic was incomparable.

“What do you think about them?” Mihawk trusted Zoro’s opinion on the condition of the items, knowing that he had a good instinct for pieces like the historic weaponry they received from Jaya, “I only saw a few pictures of them last night from Robin, but you got to see them this morning, no?”

“They’re amazing, if that’s what you’re asking,” Zoro looked over his shoulder at Mihawk with a gleam in his eye, “They have this really fine gold detail work, and they’re nothing like the weapons found in that area. Kind of wish I went with Robin to the dig, they’re one of a kind.” Mihawk smiled, recognizing the look Zoro had on his face. Nothing was quite like studying a unique piece and picking apart what it was for.

“Good. We’ll have the cleaning team be careful with them.” Mihawk pulled out his badge, scanning it and holding he door open for Zoro.

Robin was carefully turning each piece over with gloved hands when they came in, holding them still for Drake as he photographed them. Their resident paleontologist was clearly intrigued by what their department had received from Jaya and was helping them catalogue each piece for their archive. The man nodded to Mihawk when he saw him, carefully copying each item’s tags with Robin. Most of his assistants were off for the holidays much like his own department, save for those who decided to stay on the clock like Zoro and a handful of other local staff members.

He saw Haruta with a cart full of paperwork earlier, so he assumed that he was going to be regretfully locked in his office instead of the conservation room. The major con of taking the job as curator meant less hands-on time with their exhibits. Even considering how tired his team looked, he desperately wanted to spend the whole day carefully logging each item. Zoro sighed and pushed his glasses back up his nose beside him, clearly forgoing contact lenses for today. He had been here on schedule since late last night, and they were still waiting for Koala to relieve him from his shift. Mihawk squeezed his shoulder and looked at him sternly.

“If you’re finished, go home Zoro. Koala will arrive in half an hour at most.” Zoro scowled at him, stepping to the back table instead and taking a pair of gloves out from under the table.

“Look at this,” Zoro gently lifted a jeweled scimitar on the back table, “The detail on it is _insane_ , and it hasn’t even been picked over by the restoration technicians yet.” His voice was as excited as it could be coming from the usually taciturn man, and Mihawk quickly pulled a pair of gloves on and reached for one of the loupe lenses at Zoro’s station.

Drake grunted tiredly as he passed, and Robin laid down the delicate carvings she was filling paperwork out for to join them. She smiled tiredly at Mihawk, and he knew that they had worked overtime for this. He smiled back and made extra room for her beside him as he leaned in to inspect the engraving on the handle, making a note to celebrate with all of them and commend them for their time.

Zoro whistled lowly at the design, looking up as the door opened behind them. Koala quickly made her way to the table and excitedly tried to find a pair of gloves, tutting at the empty box Zoro had left under the bench. Zoro patiently held the weapon still while Koala finally found a box of fresh gloves, gratefully taking the camera from Drake to start taking photos for her technicians.

“Gosh, that’s incredible.” She breathed out reverently, grinning back at Zoro. He hummed in agreement, Mihawk systematically indicating which areas Koala’s team would focus on as soon as she joined them.

“The sheath is intact, by the way,” Robin murmured to Mihawk with a nod, “Despite its age and the material, Zoro said that it’s in remarkable condition.”

She walked over to the computer, clicking through a few photos before she made it to the image she was looking for, “The sheath was made out of flexible leather, as I’m sure you can imagine it would be for this type of sword.” He looked closely at the texture and decoration of it, clicking over to a closer shot taken last night.

“Was that once velvet, near the bottom? Or silk? Regardless, I haven’t seen it on sheaths from this particular island cluster,” Mihawk squinted and looked at the carvings, “That bird is from the Southern part of the island, yes?” His brain was moving a mile a minute, and Robin just smiled as he muttered to himself and left annotations on the images.

“Go ahead and clock out, Robin and Zoro,” Mihawk gave them a small proud smile over his shoulder, and Robin beamed back at him tiredly while Zoro yawned with his entire chest, “Good work last night, Koala and I will take over until Kohza arrives to assist her.”

“Cool. I’m gonna go pass out until Franky comes to pick us up.” Zoro yawned again as he spoke and stretched his entire body like a cat, Robin laughing softly as she picked up her phone to text Franky. Mihawk smiled, nodding at Koala as she joined him at the computer.

Most of the items they received had already been catalogued, and what was left for them to do until Kohza arrived was leave notes for Koala’s cleaning team for maintenance. Kohza would have to look over the sheath for Mihawk, and he knew that he’d have to get started on faxing the Jaya ground team authorization paperwork. He sighed, reluctantly going to the manifest and signing off on Robin’s notes. He’d have more time to study each item in full after this stage was done and they’ve received the full exhibit.

Drake helped Robin put away an inscribed tablet, his earbuds in and blasting something noisily. Mihawk enjoyed this part of his job, something that reminded him of the early days in the infancy of his career. There was a nostalgia in the quiet, exhausted lull after a proper all-nighter. Before Perona came into his life, he would travel the world to study different historic weapons. He didn’t regret the direction he took after adopting his young goddaughter, though. This work was a path he equally enjoyed, and he wouldn’t have met these good young people either.

Robin finally collected the last of her things from the desk near the door and nodded one last time to Mihawk as she departed with Zoro in tow. Koala was humming a little tune to herself and picked her camera back up, taking the memory card out to start importing the pictures Drake had taken earlier this morning. Mihawk didn’t like paperwork, despite its necessity for the level of their work, and frowned at it in annoyance. He knew that just staring at it wasn’t doing anything to help. Koala had turned to him and just laughed at his visible irritation, bending forward to laugh harder at his expense when he turned to glare at her. Drake startled at the noise while he slung his bag over his shoulder at the door, grunting and looking back before rolling his eyes at Mihawk’s predicament.

“You can’t stare the paperwork into signing itself, Mister Dracule,” her laughter had died down as she wiped at her eyes, “How about I finish the annotations in our system, and you take that back to your desk?”

She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to protest, “I saw Haruta leave a mountain of release forms in your office, and you know that we need those done before we do anything else.” He grunted in response, knowing that she was right as usual.

“Make sure that Roronoa’s paperwork is in order, Koala. You can decipher his handwriting in my stead.” She rolled her eyes but conceded with a grumble, Mihawk leaving a copy of the manifest with Zoro’s notes from last night. Working with college students will be the death of him.

They heard the lock buzz open just before Haruta popped his head through the door, “Dracule, you have paperwork that needs to be done before five, and I suggest calling the old goat when you get back to your office.” Mihawk sighed and straightened his dress-shirt, walking towards the door and nodding to Koala as he left.

Haruta headed off towards the direction of Drake’s office, Mihawk going in the opposite direction towards his department. He knew that it was likely that Sengoku was going to ask about their new exhibit, but he didn’t feel like entertaining the troublesome older gentleman when he already had work to finish. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and idly reached for it as he rounded the corner to his office. Letting himself into his office, he checked his messages and smiled. Shanks had texted him a picture of Perona eating squid ink pasta, and he could see Bonney just barely in the corner with her cheeks stuffed full of food. He felt his heart fill with fondness, and he texted Shanks asking what he wanted to do for dinner tonight. He got a string of winking emojis in response and he rolled his eyes, sitting down and reaching for the stack of papers that Haruta left beside his desk.

“ _I’ll make your favorite tonight <3 ;) ;)_” He snorted at the text and smiled into his hand. He was ridiculous.

He’d have to call Sengoku…the man had the habit of drifting off topic quickly and making a five minute conversation last three hours, so if he got it out of the way now, he might be able to finish all of his paperwork on time. He adjusted his tie and cufflinks fastidiously and reached for the phone next to his computer, entering Sengoku’s extension as he opened his email. _Avoid talking about goats,_ Mihawk thought to himself.

 

* * *

 

As usual, the old man had his eccentricities on full display during their call. He had already sat on the phone for an hour listening to Sengoku detail what he could only describe as entirely unsolicited, doting goat husbandry. He began multitasking on email correspondence with the lead archeologist from Jaya, dreading the no likely brusque phone call he would have with the man. Robin affectionately recalled the surly fellow after returning from her trip, and told him that he preferred being called… _Locust, or Cricket?_ Either way, despite the man’s blunt demeanor he wasn’t entirely unfriendly or disorganized, so he didn’t feel all that strongly about him just yet.

“But, enough about _my_ babies, Mihawk.” He snapped back to attention, sensing that Sengoku was finally shifting gears from goats to potentially something work-related.

“How is _your_ baby? Well, she isn’t a baby, but you understand.” Mihawk dragged a hand down his face, his brows furrowed with frustration. Make no mistake, he adored his daughter, but there was absolutely no way he was going to entertain Sengoku’s procrastination today.

“She’s working on her first year of graduate school, something that has not changed since we last discussed it _outside_ of work.” He kept the clipped tone he favored at bay, but still managed to effectively build a cement wall around any further potential personal discussion. He heard Sengoku grumble under his breath about how ridiculous he was, but he silently folded when Mihawk stubbornly stretched out the silence after his curt response.

“So, Jaya.” Mihawk internally celebrated that it only took a scant hour and a half to address their phone conference’s _sole_ itinerary. Usually, Sengoku was happy to go on about his personal projects for hours at a time to anyone close enough to listen, but Mihawk was practically an expert at rebuffing him.

“Robin received the bulk of our shipment last night, but apparently there has been a clerical error on the other end,” Mihawk couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice, and he reached over for his coffee to sip at it as he shuffled to the manifest that Robin drafted, “I’ve been in correspondence with the director in Jaya.”

“Do you think that the rest of the items will arrive on time for us to remain on schedule?” Mihawk pinched the bridge of his nose at Sengoku’s question, mulling over his response.

“I believe that our spring exhibit won’t be entirely at risk,” He was tentative in his answer, “However, if Bartholomew’s assessment of the Jaya situation is correct, we’ll be pressing ourselves for time.”

He was interrupted by a strange sound that pulled him out of his thoughts, coming from the phone. _Crunching...?_ He clenched his jaw in frustration when he recognized what the noise was, “Are you eating, Sengoku? In the middle of a _conference call?_ ”

 

* * *

 

Shanks checked his phone as he walked from the pizza bistro he finished eating at with Perona and Bonney, watching with amusement as Perona skipped into a precious, bright pink boutique with Bonney in tow. He could take his time reaching his destination, he thought, pulling his coat closer to himself. It wasn’t cold enough for snow, but still chilly enough to be uncomfortable. Grand Line was a coastal city, and the air from the sea could make winters unforgiving. He made note to stop by the specialty liquor store to pick up Mihawk’s favorite wine on his way home, knowing that his husband would appreciate a good drink with him after work. That, and they drained the last bottle on Friday when he forced Mihawk to watch Christmas movies with him.

He hummed to himself as he passed different stores, keeping in mind to find something extra for Makino and her new baby for the holidays, and her birthday after the new year…he asked Benn for a list a while back, but he knows how hectic taking care of kids are from experience. When he and Mihawk got together, Perona was an unexpected surprise. He was under the impression that the man’s personality wasn’t exactly… _hospitable_ to children. It seemed like just yesterday that he met Perona, a shy little girl that hid from him behind Mihawk. She had a strange little laugh, and had properly given him hell for those first shaky months. Mihawk had adopted her and raised her, stepping in and being the father Perona needed after she was left on her own.

It was hard learning how she had lost her parents so young, but knowing that Mihawk had taken her in and fiercely protecting her the way he did only made him love the other man more. Earning the place that he had now in Perona’s life was a blessing and seeing her grow up was beyond any reward he could have imagined. Fifteen years ago, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted children; however, Perona taught him more about himself and his goals than he ever anticipated. Becoming a caretaker seemingly overnight was scary, but becoming a dad was…a lot, and not without its uphill battles.

He smiled behind his scarf, seeing his destination just up ahead and ducking beneath the awning before walking in. He reached into his pocket for his phone again and saw that Perona had sent him at least a dozen pictures from the store. He was sure that she bought most of it, and he winced at the idea of Perona’s closet getting any fuller than it already was. _The uphill battles apparently don’t ever stop, I guess…_

He ducked into the shop that Robin had referred him to, smiling at the elderly man behind the counter. He had ordered rings for Mihawk and himself, newer and engraved to replace their old ones for their upcoming sixteenth anniversary, but he was here to pick up something else.

Robin had helped him find it, an old _kogatana_ with a jeweled _kozuka_ made into the shape of a crucifix. According to Robin, it was authentic, and sourced from a collector who owned various pieces from a brief religious period during the age of samurai. It had been exorbitantly expensive, but he trusted Robin’s eye and knew that it would be worth the price. It was a traditionally gothic North Blue design, the _kozuka_ made of gold with a blade of fine steel from Wano. The man who owned this jewelry store had a hobby in restoring antique weaponry and was recommended by an old friend, and about four months ago he and Robin came here for the delicate task of restoring the unique weapon. The old man was strange but passionate about swords, so he knew the _kogatana_ would be in good hands.

He honestly thought it was gorgeous, despite not really knowing much about it. He may have met Mihawk at an old-school sword fighting event, but that didn’t mean he knew much about the history of these things. He was mostly nervous about Mihawk’s reaction. This isn’t the most expensive of gifts he’d gotten for his husband, but he had a habit of being…picky. He outsourced Robin’s help, but it was in no way a guarantee when considering Mihawk’s tastes as a genuine collector; regardless of how long they’ve been together, Mihawk was _Mihawk._

“Shanks, my man!” He smiled toothily back at the store owner, nodding as he unwrapped his scarf and approached the counter. The elderly gentleman reached down for the box he had put the small kogatana into, and Shanks had his phone ready to send pictures to Robin as promised. Once the box was carefully opened, his heart skipped a beat; it was gorgeous, and on a new golden chain. If Mihawk didn’t like this, he would eat his hat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for finishing the second chapter! I won't foolishly make promises for regular updates, aside from there being another one coming to bring this particular story closer to the end. I plan on making a collection of other related works, but again, that likely won't be for a while. I would love to read any comments, constructive criticism, and thoughts on this chapter if you can; if you can't, I am still ever so pleased by kudos, just to let me know if you're enjoying it. I might be reaching a lull in my schoolwork soon, so that time will likely be spent writing fanfiction...which is embarrassing to read as I go over this end note. Regardless, thank you! I will see you all again soon with another update.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thank you for giving this a read. I'll regularly update this fic on a weekly-to-biweekly basis, unless stated otherwise in the end notes. I'll try to keep to a regular posting situation, but unfortunately I have an extremely hectic schedule. I can't promise that the chapters will be long, but I will only post what I really like. This will be an ongoing story of my soft AU where everybody is alive and happy, so expect some tooth-rotting fluff (and generic dumbass college student hijinks every so often) in the future! Any works I write that are related to this of mixed ratings will be posted separately, and thrown into a series list for easy navigation if need be. I really appreciate people reading this, and if you have any comments at all I would LOVE reading them. This fic is kind of my baby, so please be kind. Anyways, thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you again next chapter.


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